She's Got Sorcery
by theknightandthethief
Summary: "Statues lacked the ability to think, to see, to hear, to feel. And though she seemed lifeless, Xandra still possessed the ability to do all of the above. He would know."


**She's Got Sorcery**

_"It was a punishment worse than death. A punishment that Xandra was serving today."  
_

* * *

For some reason, people treated her like a statue.

A memory of the neopet who had almost single-handedly brought Faerieland crashing down to the ground below, destroying not only the home and lives of faeries and winged neopets alike, but destroying parts of the Haunted Woods as well. Much of Brightvale had also been affected by the wraiths she conjured, adding to the list of damage she had done to Neopia in her quest to rule over the world in the place of the faeries.

She had been moved to the courtyard of Fyora's castle during the rebuild of Faerieland, as if though she was an elaborate garden statue instead of a frozen sorceress. Yes, she was grey in appearance, motionless, and her surface felt like smooth stone. But she wasn't a statue.

Statues lacked the ability to think, to see, to hear, to _feel_. And though she seemed lifeless, Xandra still possessed the ability to do all of the above. He would know.

The explosion of green light had not only turned Xandra to stone, but himself as well. He had been disorientated at first. Confused. Unable to figure out what exactly had happened to his body. Stabbing the artefact should have killed him, but through one squinted eye he could see still the smouldering ruins of Faerieland, and nothing else. Xandra was nowhere to be seen, as was Brynn. He had no idea whether she was alive, dead, or close to death; alone and injured with no one to help her.

Until he heard her voice.

"Oh, Hanso..."

He felt her take hold of his face, unaware that to her, he just felt like cold stone.

"What have you done?"

He didn't need to see her face to know that she was crying.

And though he could hear her, he was unable to reply. His limbs were unresponsive, frozen. He'd be stuck like this for Fyora knows how long, able to observe and listen, but unable to interact with the world around him.

It was a punishment worse than death. A punishment that Xandra was serving today.

- x -

Hanso sat up in bed, unable to sleep. The recurring nightmares of Faerieland's crash had stopped after a few years and some medication, but he occasionally found his mind wandering back to his moments as a statue. While Hanso had some idea of how it would feel to be trapped in stone for years on end, he was unable to imagine the revenge Xandra would unleash on all of those she worked with during the days leading up to her plan if she were to ever break free

Many had tried to reassure him that it wouldn't happen. That she was simply a statue under Fyora's watch, incapable of moving a millimeter, let alone escaping her stone prison. But they didn't know what he knew. Xandra had plenty of time to think over the years and he was willing to bet a small fortune that she had formed a plan of some sort.

He twisted the thin, gold band on the third finger of his left hand. He had reminded himself many times that marrying Brynn would put her in no more danger than she would be if they had simply parted ways. It hadn't taken Xandra long to figure out how he felt about her while working with the others to put a stop to Faerieland's descent - and in retrospect, it hadn't taken any one else much longer, either - and he was sure that Xandra wouldn't hesitate to hurt Brynn in order to torture him, regardless of whether they were together or not.

But now... now they were expecting a child. They hadn't planned on having children at first, as they spent a lot of time travelling - both for work, and fun. However, after having perhaps a little bit too much to drink at a pub in Krawk Island, they had conceived a child. And Hanso wasn't sure he wanted to know what Xandra would if she were to ever find out.

Casting a glance at Brynn, who was asleep beside him, he thought back to when he had first found out.

- x -

"All I'm saying is that I think you should stay home from work today." Hanso was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, a concerned expression on his face. "Just until you're feeling better."

"I'm _fine_, Hanso," she replied after he had finished rinsing out her mouth. She set the plastic down on the bathroom counter, and began to gather her red hair into a ponytail. If she hadn't hit the door on her way to the bathroom he'd probably still be sleeping by now, and she could have slipped off to work.

"Brynn, you're sick." He stood up, and moved in front of the bathroom door before she could escape.

"I am not sick, and you're going to make me late for my shift if you don't move out of the way!"

"So you were just throwing up because you felt like it, then?" Hanso ducked as Brynn chucked a shampoo bottle at his head. "Hey, I'm trying to help you, there's no need to throw things at me!"

"I'm not sick," she muttered, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Brynn, you're-"

"-I'm pregnant."

- x -

He had been stunned into temporary silence after she had told him. All his life, he had never imagined himself being a father (with the exception of fathering illegitimate children, perhaps). At first, he hadn't realized what they had done. He was nervous, but excited at the prospect of having a kid of his own. They had the resources for it, and he was sure Fyora would be willing to let Brynn take a maternity leave from work, and the only problem he saw at first was that he had no idea how to be a father - let alone a _good_ father.

But he soon realized that once born, their child would be a target for anyone who wished revenge on him _or_ Brynn.

And he had a lot of enemies.

* * *

I don't know what I'm doing with this. I've been thinking about writing a story would show what would happen if Brynn and Hanso had kids (because as fluffy as I like my stories to be, I do think them having a child wouldn't be a completely positive thing; they have enemies).

I'm not sure if I should continue this, or just add it as a chapter to my other story. I don't really have any ideas as to what should happen after this, only that it probably needs a proper conclusion instead of just being a one-shot. So until I figure out what to do I'll just leave it as a separate story. If does disappear, it'll be added as a bonus chapter to Accidentally in Love.


End file.
